TRENTON, N.J. — The roar of the leaf blower has become an inescapable part of daily life in communities across America, leading towns and states to ban or restrict blowers that run on gasoline.
Since that ban took effect last October, “Montclair has been a healthier, cleaner, quieter community,” she said.Just as the push to move away from burning fossil fuels to power cars and homes is drawing opposition from business groups and numerous device owners, the move by government to force a switch to battery-powered leaf blowers has the industry complaining of increased costs and decreased performance under the new regulations.
“New Jersey is bombarded with leaves and stuff to clean up,” said Rich Goldstein, president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, representing 550 companies in the state. “We’re not California, we’re not Florida. We have leaves. The average house in New Jersey, you take away 30 to 50 cubic feet of leaves each fall. That’s a lot of leaves."
But just as the push to move away from burning fossil fuels to power cars and homes is drawing opposition from business groups and numerous device owners, the move by government to force a switch to battery-powered leaf blowers has the industry complaining of increased costs and decreased performance under the new regulations.